Becoming

Story Skatergal Chapter 2 Competitive Analysis Story how figure skating helped develop my mobilisation skills As a teenager our Friday evenings consisted of ascending on the local ice rink to enjoy the disco and watch the ice hockey players show off their skills and crazy manoeuvres on the ice. I remember laughing a lot and enjoying the thrill and feel of just gliding effortlessly. Back then I never thought of ice-skating lessons we were too poor for that. Fast forward to 2010 having gone through a separation my main focus was get a permanent job and maintain some kind of stability for my daughter who was five at the time of the separation. I had a demanding global lead role and direct line reports which meant long hours covering each continent and international travel. During one of these work trips our team one evening decided to venture onto the local ice rink in the marketplace. I was 40 and gliding around the ice laughing and having fun. I had not laughed so much in a very long time. I did not want the feeling to end. I got back home and immediately booked a session of skating with my daughter at the local ice rink . The session was a complete disaster! My daughter was like Bambi on ice and I spent the whole session bolstering her and incurring terrible back ache as a result. I glimpsed up and saw an advertisement learn to skate with Skate Uk, I sign us both up on the spot and so began my love of figure skating ⛸. We started off as part of a group and then I got my own coach. My daughter and I were very competitive she would always be one or two levels above however; I have the certificates that prove otherwise. After 3 years my daughter had other commitments to pursue, I continued developing my skating skills any opportunity I could get. Being single meant doing whatever whenever I wanted so I literally lived at the ice rink. I always wanted to compete and in 2015 a beautiful May Day I took a flight to Obersdorf in Germany to take part in my first Adult International skating competition. I was in the artistic category and did a Spanish number due to the fact my coach said I had great hands but arms that were not a bit graceful like a ballerina more resembling chicken wings flapping uncontrollably. We laughed about it a lot and used it to my advantage. Sounds great doesn’t it? and it was a fantastic experience the result Maxcene Crowe Great Britain scores 4 points . A year later I competed at Sheffield, Maxcene Crowe scores 7 points. 2019 competed at Sheffield again and got disqualified for not wearing the appropriate attire. I had made my own costume I was a gladiator and skated to a version of the theme tune from the film. 14 years on and I still love the sport and skate regularly. Life is very different now competing is not a priority, now I skate to think, focus find peace and learn some really cool skills and participate in local shows. If you are not familiar with figure skating then you may not know that when you enter competitions your piece can be between 1 minute 40 seconds to three minutes for a short programme. During this skate you have to complete compulsory elements a minimum of 1 spin lasting at least 4 rotations, a step sequence, two single jumps, a spiral and demonstrate good use of the ice and skate techniques. There is then a long list of all the elements you lose points for such as incorrect use of edges, not completing jumps, overuse of toe picks and it goes on. Putting this into context, even after skating for 5 years I was no where near a level that I imagine in my head and after 9 years even though I had improved still a lot of work and practice was needed. In order to be ready for competition I was practice with my coach every week a year in advance and session in between, then work on music and put it all together. Over 300 hours training for one competition comprised of ice time and off ice practice, skate camps, HIIT high intensity training and fitness in the gym and running to build endurance. All this for 1minute 40secs. If it takes over 300 hours of practice and preparation to compete for 1minute 40seconds how much do you think you need to put into a mobilisation for it to be successful? When you see a figure skater perform on ice you do not see what it took to get the results you see a graceful skater enjoying music landing jumps with ease and me, with my chicken wing arms the odd trip here and there feeling I’m jumping so high off the ice then in reality I have only lifted of a couple of inches. Insert Image I am smiling as I write this because my mobilisation skills are partly a by-product of my figure skating. I am not saying you go out buy a pair of skates and hit the ice. I am saying figure skating was what helped me approach projects in a different way. Let me break it down for you. Successful mobilisations take hours of planning and preparation, you have to respect the process and build the foundation. In skating you cannot go out and land a flip or a loop jump, you have to understand the technique each element, break it down into sizeable chunks practice each element then bring it all together. This is what you do with a mobilisation. You are essentially bringing all the pieces together to deliver the solution. Another example, in skating you do need to understand the physics behind the elements take spinning, enter the spin on the wrong edge or ball of the foot and you will fall out of the spin before it’s even begun. Look down or have your arms in the wrong position you will fall straight on your bum. It is no different when you are running your projects and mobilising, think about when you have to do, and the right position you have to be in to deliver and execute perfectly. If you are just starting out on your mobilisation journey seek out colleagues and others who already have a lot of experience. In figure skating we learn skills and techniques by copying and by examples Coach shows you the move you copy and at times some moves do not make sense however one day it is probably months later, Coach does a move you copy and as if by magic you’ve landed your first loop jump. How amazing it is to feel so much pride in accomplishing the move, what you don’t realise is it took many hours but you have forgotten. The same is true of mobilisation. Everything you practice and work on gives you the skills and depth of knowledge to perform and improve on your projects. Figure skating taught me discipline, focus, tenacity and to rise above the challenges. There is always a solution, someone always knows the answer in your business check out who has worked on mobilisations before. Do not be afraid to learn from others that is how you will grow.